Bit holder



P 2 1953 P. G. J. GRIFFITHS 2,652,671

BIT HOLDER Filed May 10, 1950 ouloongoo p INVENfOR. Pars/2 61 of. GRIFFITHS Patented Sept. 22. 1953 BIT HOLDER Peter G. J. Griffiths, San Francisco, Calif., assignor to Winalot Bloodstock Equipment Company, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California Application May 10, 1950, Serial No. 161,043

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a bit holder whereby the bit normally positioned in the horse's mouth is maintainable in a relatively tight position close to the roof of the mouth.

It has been found on numerous occasions that horses tend to endeavor to place the tongue over the bit where the bit is loosely supported. Often the tongue over the bit causes choking during periods of violent exercise, racing or running.

This is particularly true in connection with thoroughbreds and race horses, where upon considerable exercise the horse tends to breathe harder. Under such conditions should the tongue be permitted to come up above the bit the horse may even choke itself to death. It is thus quite essential that the bit passing through the horses mouth be maintained above the tongue and essentially in a tight position at the roof of the mouth.

Heretofore, in order to prevent such happening, and particularly to prevent the horse placing its tongue above the bit, it has been the practice of trainers and racers particularly to strap the horses tongue down toward the lower jaw. This is done by tying or otherwise fastening a strap around or above the tongue and permitting the strap to extend completely beneath the jaw so that the above-noted conditions cannot take place. Such strapping is both uncomfortable and extremely annoying to the horse.

Particularly in connection with race horses, where some provision is not made for securing the bit from lateral motion within the horses mouth there is often a tendency for the horse to become less maneuverable than should normally be the case. The horse is directed and controlled by the rider or driver so as to turn under the influence of a pull on the reins actin upon the mouth-held bit. The exerted pull often tends to move the bit laterally within the mouth. On such condition the end of the bit often tends to rub annoyingly on the horses jaw or even slide partially or wholly through the mouth. The horse thus tends to resist the directive effect exerted by the force of the reins upon the bit and at times and unless exceptionally well trained becomes, at least to some extent, unmanageable.

By the present invention ways and means have been provided for maintaining the bit securely in an upper position against the roof of the mouth so that the horses tongue cannot be placed above it. In addition, the invention provides a convenient means for preventing lateral motion of the bit within the mouth.

The device in its preferred form consists of an appropriate arrangement of joined strap.

One of these members terminates in an enlarged disk-like portion which forms effectively what may be termed a lobular excrescence. This portion of the holder is adapted and arranged so as to support and secure the ends of the bit within the horses mouth. The strap or attachment member which is secured to the bridle serves to tension the strap portion passed over the horses nose and thus secures the bit in position.

The disk-like elements are provided with substantially centrally located apertures from each of which a slit leads to a terminating aperture. The arrangement is such that upon opening the slit the combination of the slit and aperture pro vides sufficient space through which the reins and the end of the bit may easily be passed and yet normally held therein. Attachment of the disk-like extensions over the ends of the bit and the fastening member to the headpiece of the bridle provides asupport which will maintain the bit in the desired position. The entire bit holder arrangement may be formed of resilient material or a part only thereof may be so formed.

In one of its desired forms the invention consists of a unitary structure formed by molding a rubber or other material having elasticity, resilience or flexibility into the desired shape and configuration. The article may be formed complete in the molding process or its fabrication may be completed by subsequently stamping, punching and cutting the aperture and slit construction mentioned. The end of the strap support arranged to fasten to the headpiece of the bridle may, where desired, be provided with a fabric backing for strengthening. Such fabric backing may be pressed or molded directly into the rubber material or may subsequently be attached thereto by appropriate methods, such as stitching, glueing or otherwise fastening. In other forms or construction the holder may be made of plastic, leather, fabric or other pliable material and the tension exerted upon the bit thereby supported may be provided through the use of a resilient or elastic member forming all or part of the strap-like element used to connect to the headpiece of the bridle.

With the foregoing in mind it becomes an object of this invention to provide a bit holder which can quickly be placed in use and which shall so support the bit within the animals mouth as to be substantially free from annoyance and objection to the animal. Another object of the invention is to provide a bit holder which can be manufactured readily and molded, pressed, stamped or otherwise formed from a single piece of any desired material or which can readily be formed by assembling such device from individually molded, cut, stamped or otherwise formed sections capable of being joined or fastened together in any desired manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bit holder which will make unnecessary the following of heretofore practiced methods of strapping or otherwise tying the horses tongue down to prevent its being moved above the bit placed in the mouth.

Another object of the invention naturally is to provide a bit holder which shall be relatively cheap to construct and which shall nonetheless fill an existing need whereby the animal may be more humanely treated than where it becomes essential to tie the tongue.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description to follow.

The invention in one of its preferred forms is illustrated diagrammatically by the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 shows the general application of the bit holder for supporting the bit within the mouth of an herbivorous animal and appropriately tensioning the same through attachment to the bridle, and Fig. 2 is a plan View showing generally the arrangement in which the bit holder structure can be cast or molded or appropriately cut in quantity from fiat pieces of material.

Referring now to the drawings, and first to Fig. 2 thereof, the bit holder is represented by the general designation II. It will be seen that it comprises a bifurcated or Y-shaped member 12, of which the arms or forked branches l3 and M respectively each terminate in a disk-like element or a lobular excrescence l5. Substantially at the center of each disk-like element Hi there is cut or otherwise formed a central aperture [6 having leading therefrom a slit [1. This slit l1 terminates in a small circular opening or aperture conventionally represented at l8, whose function is substantially only that of preventing further tearing of the disk-like member with an opening of the slit I! to permit the insertion of the ends of the bit and the reins, as will later be set forth.

At the knee IQ of the bifurcated or Y-shaped member from which the fork-like branches or arms l3 and Id lead, a nose strap is appropriately fastened to form the complete arrangement into the form of a Y. The nose-strap is elongated and at its free end 22 terminates in a strap-like extension into which various punch holes have been formed for attachment around the headpiece 24 (see Fig. 1) of the horses bridle. Securement to the bridle is provided by buckle 25. Reinforcing in the way of a backing strap conventionally represented at 26 (see Fig. 2) is usually desirable at the punched end of the strapto prevent tearing under conditions of repeated fastening and. unfastening of the device with attachment and removal of the bridle and bit.

The manner of utilizing the bit holder of Fig. 2 is exemplified in Fig. 1, where the complete holder unit H is placed over the head 21 of the horse and arranged to fit above and around the horses nose 28. The strap-like or leg member 20, as above stated, is fastened to the bridle headpiece 24 by the buckle member 25. It thus supports the forked branch or arms l3 and I4 of the bifurcated member in proper position. The arms l3 and I4 when so supported fit about the horses nose and terminate at the horses mouth. The bit, of which the end is shown at 29, is fitted through the openings IE by enlarging or twisting the disk-like element to open the slit I1. At the same time if the reins 30 are left on the bit they also may be passed through the slit I1 and apertures l8 and I6 along with the bit. Tension is provided upon the complete assembly through the use of the nose-strap or leg member 20 as it is attached to the bridle headpiece and tends to pull the arms 13 and I4 and the thereby held bit upwardly.

In its preferred construction the complete assembly may be formedffrom pressed or molded rubber to provide a resilient structure throughout. The arms and leg portions of the bifurcated or Y-shaped member thus may be formed as a unitary structure which is completely resilient. In other forms the arms and disk-like formations on the ends thereof may be formed of leather, plastic, fabric or other pliable material which is attached as at the knee or junction 19 of the arms and leg of the Y to a resilient nose-strap 20 which terminates in the fastening element 22. It is usually desirable that at least a portion of the leg or nose-strap member 20 be formed resiliently so that tension may be applied to lift the support bit member 29 high in the horses mouth.

Alternatively, and Without departing from the spirit of the invention, other parts thereof may be formed of resilient or pliable or elastic material. The important factor is that at least some portion of the support shall have sufficient elasticity to maintain the bit in the desired position.

From what has been pointed out above it will be appreciated that by fastening the bit 29 so that its ends pass through the apertures 16 and slit ll, the aperture itself is such as to be slightly smaller than the end of the bit (such as a D-bit or round bit by way of example) whereby the bit does not tend to slip or slide laterally in the horses mouth. Furthermore, with a direct pull on one or the other of the reins 30 the bit end will press upon the disk-like elements [5 rather than directly upon the horses jaw. This reduces materially the sharp pressure and annoying action of the bit which otherwise would manifest itself as effective directly against the horses jaw. The result is that it becomes considerably easier to train yearlings. Also, when actually racing horses, maneuverability is greatly improved because the horse does not tend to resist the directive motion and, as is expressed in trainers language, the animal does not fight the bit.

Various modifications, of course, may be made without in any way departing from the spirit or scope of the invention set forth.

Having now described the invention, what is claimed is:

Having set forth the invention, what is claimed 1. An animal bit holder comprising a bifurcated nose-strap of which each forked branch terminates in a disk-like element which is of a diameter substantially in excess of that of a bit adapted to be held, each of said disks having a centrally located aperture and a slit extending outwardly therefrom through which the end of a bit is adapted to be inserted, each of said slits terminating in a second circular opening of a diameter slightly in excess of the slit width to prevent tearing upon opening of the slit, and a bridle fastening strap secured substantially to the center of the bifurcated member for attachment to the head piece of a horses bridle and a resilient section forming at least a part or" the strap said combination being adapted to locate a bit held thereby high in the horses mouth and pre vent lateral movement of the held bit which would rub the horses mouth.

2. An animal bit holder comprising an elongated nose-strap having each end terminate in a substantially disk-like member, said disks each having a substantially centrally positioned opening and a slit extending therefrom to permit the insertion therethrough of the ends of an animal bit, a head strap formed at least in part of a resilient material secured substantially midway between the ends 'of the elongated nose-strap for attachment at its free end to the bridle head piece.

3. A bit holder comprising a resilient nosestrap for fastening substantially adjacent a horses mouth and around the horses nose with securement at each end to the mouthheld bit, said nose strap terminating at each end in an enlarged area having a central aperture of approximately like cross-sectional area to that of the mouth-held bit and a slot extending outwardly therefrom through each of which one end of the bit is adapted to be passed for securement,

6 and a resilient bridle fastening strap having one end fastened substantially centrally of the nosestrap and the other end adapted for securement to the bridle head piece, thereby to tension the nose-strap and locate the thereby held bit.

4. A bit holder comprising a Y-shaped resilient support wherein each arm of the said support terminates in an enlarged lobular excrescence having therein a substantially centrally located aperture and a slit leading therefrom, said lobular excrescence being adapted for positioning adjacent the inner portion of a horses mouth and the aperture and slit providing an opening through which the end of the bit may be passed and which serves also to fasten and locate the ends of the bit and thereby support the bit within the horses mouth, and wherein the leg of the Y is adapted for securement to the head piece of the horses bridle thereby to the bit in desired position high in the horses mouth.

PETER G. J. GRIFFZTES.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 77,235 York Apr. 28, 1868 122,491 Robbins Jan. 2, 1872 133,817 Wilson Dec. 10, 1872 303,869 Longcor Aug. 19, 1884; 330,944 Valiant Nov. 24;, 1885 565,681 Hutton Aug. 11, 1896 782,655 Hibline Feb. 14, 1905 979,838 Flynn Dec. 27, 1910 

